Lotus plants abound in Inle Lake and a hundred years ago the weavers discovered an ingenious use for the plant's spiderweb like fibers.
When you break the stalk of a lotus flower, long, sticky threads stretch gently between the two halves. The process is extremely slow and labor intensive, the fine tendrils are rolled together to eventually make a fiber long and strong enough to weave.With a texture similar to raw silk and a natural cream color, the light weight, breathable fabric is one of the most expensive textiles in the world. In a stilted factory, Inle's talented weavers make stunning textiles of lotus, silk and cotton on hand and pedal looms. For a thorough report on this unique art, read this article.
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| silk thread |
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| A small neck scarf requires about 4,000 lotus stems, a large scarf requires about 40,000 stems |
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